H.S. Roundup: Waterford football closes strong, shuts out East Lyme

The Waterford High School football team posted its fifth-straight win Thursday to close the season, shutting out rival East Lyme, 20-0, in their annual Thanksgiving Day showdown.

STAFF REPORTS

What a finish.

The Waterford High School football team posted its fifth-straight win Thursday to close the season, shutting out rival East Lyme, 20-0, in their annual Thanksgiving Day showdown.

The Lancers (7-4) broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter on a third-and-28 situation from the East Lyme 34. Donnie Bickford, who finished with 168 yards on 34 carries, went 32 yards on a draw play to the Viking two-yard line. Quarterback Jon Blair then scored the first of his two-rushing touchdowns three plays later.

“We were just trying to get half of it back and decide whether to kick a field goal or go for it,” Waterford coach Mike Ellis said. “That play made life easy for us.”

Blair added another score on a four-yard run with 32 seconds left in the third quarter. Rafael Holder capped things off with a 21-yard pass in the fourth quarter for the final.

It was the Lancers’ first win over the Vikings since 2002. East Lyme (4-7) could muster just 86 total yards against the Waterford defense.

Stonington 22
Westerly (R.I.) 19
WESTERLY, R.I. — A four-play, 70-yard drive in the final minutes gave the Bears the win over their over-the-border Thanksgiving Day rival.

Mike Portunato caught a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:39 left to give Westerly the 19-16 lead. The Bears (8-3) came right back and won by doing something they don’t do a lot of — passing the ball. Quarterback Jim Ceil found Brendan Wilkins with 42 seconds left with the game-winning, 19-yard score.

Josh Whitford led Stonington with 97 yards in 17 carries. He also caught a 30-yard pass for a score from Ceil. Zach Wheeler added 72 yards on 17 carries, and Zach Branesky had a 54-yard run for another Stonington score.

Senior soccer
ROCKY HILL — The Connecticut High School Coaches Association Senior All-Star games will be played today at Rocky Hill High School.